Patentable/Patents/US-10903358
US-10903358

Vertical fin field effect transistor with reduced gate length variations

PublishedJanuary 26, 2021
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

A method of forming a fin field effect transistor is provided. The method includes forming an elevated substrate tier on a substrate, and forming a fin mesa on the elevated substrate tier with a fin template layer on the fin mesa, wherein the elevated substrate tier is laterally larger than the fin mesa and fin template layer. The method includes forming a fill layer on the substrate, wherein the fill layer surrounds the fin mesa, elevated substrate tier, and fin template layer, forming a plurality of fin masks on the fill layer and fin template layer, and removing portions of the fill layer, fin template layer, and fin mesa to form a plurality of dummy fins from the fill layer, one or more vertical fins from the fin mesa, and a dummy fin portion on opposite ends of each of the one or more vertical fins from the fill layer.

Patent Claims
20 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.

1

1. A fin field effect transistor, comprising: an elevated substrate tier on a substrate; one or more vertical fins on the elevated substrate tier; a dummy fin portion on opposite ends of each of the one or more vertical fins; an isolation region surrounding the elevated substrate tier; and a plurality of dummy fins on the isolation region.

2

2. The fin field effect transistor of claim 1 , wherein the material of the isolation region, plurality of dummy fins, and dummy fin portions is selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN), a silicon oxynitride (SiON), a silicon carbonitride (SiCN), a silicon boronitride (SiBN), a silicon borocarbide (SiBC), a silicon boro carbonitride (SiBCN), a boron carbide (BC), a boron nitride (BN), and combinations thereof.

3

3. The fin field effect transistor of claim 2 , wherein the material of the elevated substrate tier and one or more vertical fins is single crystal silicon (Si).

4

4. The fin field effect transistor of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vertical fins have a height in a range of about 20 nm to about 100 nm, and a width in a range of about 6 nm to about 8 nm.

5

5. The fin field effect transistor of claim 4 , wherein the elevated substrate tier has a height from the top surface of the substrate in a range of about 10 nm to about 50 nm.

6

6. The fin field effect transistor of claim 4 , wherein the one or more vertical fins have a length in a range of about 20 nm to about 200 nm.

7

7. The fin field effect transistor of claim 6 , wherein the length of each of the dummy fin portions is sufficient to compensate for the greatest variation of a gate length caused by the tapering of the layers forming the gate structure.

8

8. The fin field effect transistor of claim 6 , wherein the dummy fin portions on opposite ends of each of the one or more vertical fins extends over the elevated substrate tier.

9

9. The fin field effect transistor of claim 8 , wherein each of the dummy fin portions extends a distance of about 20 nm to about 100 nm from an endwall of the one or more vertical fins.

10

10. A fin field effect transistor, comprising: an elevated substrate tier on a semiconductor substrate; one or more semiconductor vertical fins on the elevated substrate tier; a dielectric dummy fin portion on opposite ends of each of the one or more semiconductor vertical fins; a dielectric isolation region surrounding the elevated substrate tier; and a plurality of dielectric dummy fins on the isolation region.

11

11. The fin field effect transistor of claim 10 , wherein the elevated substrate tier has a height from the top surface of the substrate in a range of about 10 nm to about 50 nm.

12

12. The fin field effect transistor of claim 11 , wherein one of the plurality of dummy fins is formed on each of the opposite sides of the one or more vertical fins, and wherein the outer sidewalls of the plurality of dummy fins face away from other neighboring vertical fins.

13

13. The fin field effect transistor of claim 12 , further comprising a bottom spacer layer on the top surfaces of the isolation region and elevated substrate tier; and a gate dielectric layer on the bottom spacer layer, plurality of dummy fins, one or more vertical fins, and dummy fin portions.

14

14. The fin field effect transistor of claim 12 , wherein the isolation region, plurality of dummy fins, and dummy fin portions are made of silicon nitride (SiN).

15

15. The fin field effect transistor of claim 12 , wherein the length of each of the dummy fin portions is in a range of about 40 nm to about 75 nm.

16

16. A fin field effect transistor, comprising: an elevated substrate tier on a substrate; one or more vertical fins on the elevated substrate tier; a dummy fin portion on opposite ends of each of the one or more vertical fins from the fill layer; an isolation region surrounding the elevated substrate tier; a plurality of dummy fins on the isolation region; and a bottom spacer layer on the top surfaces of the isolation region and elevated substrate tier.

17

17. The fin field effect transistor of claim 16 , wherein the one or more vertical fins have a length in a range of about 20 nm to about 200 nm, and each of the dummy fin portions extends a distance of about 20 nm to about 100 nm from an endwall of the one or more vertical fins.

18

18. The fin field effect transistor of claim 17 , wherein the material of the isolation region, plurality of dummy fins, and dummy fin portions is selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN), a silicon oxynitride (SiON), a silicon carbonitride (SiCN), a silicon boronitride (SiBN), a silicon borocarbide (SiBC), a silicon boro carbonitride (SiBCN), a boron carbide (BC), a boron nitride (BN), and combinations thereof.

19

19. The fin field effect transistor of claim 18 , further comprising a gate dielectric layer on the bottom spacer layer, plurality of dummy fins, one or more vertical fins, and dummy fin portions; and a work function layer on the gate dielectric layer.

20

20. The fin field effect transistor of claim 19 , wherein the work function layer has a uniform height on the one or more vertical fins.

Classification Codes (CPC)

Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

June 5, 2019

Publication Date

January 26, 2021

Want to explore more patents?

Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.

Citation & reuse

Analysis on this page is generated by Patentable — an AI-powered patent intelligence platform. AI-generated summaries, explanations, and analysis may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL below. Patent abstracts and claims are USPTO public domain.

Cite as: Patentable. “Vertical fin field effect transistor with reduced gate length variations” (US-10903358). https://patentable.app/patents/US-10903358

© 2026 Patentable. All rights reserved.

Patentable is a research and drafting-assistant tool, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. Documents we generate are drafts for review by a licensed patent attorney.